Comments on: Can gadget bargains be had before the holidays?

Consumers plan to spend less this holiday, which could lead retailers to offer some unusually good prices before the traditional shopping season.

[Lerianis]

I am willing to absolutely guarantee that there are going to be some very good deals this Christmas. You might even see gaming-class PC's like the one I recently got from Gateway down in the 800 dollar range (yes, I am serious here).
On everything else, I would expect 500 GB external hard drives to be down to about 80 bucks, memory (DD2 and DDR3) down to 10 dollars per gigabyte, etc.

[Electro_Fox]

I LIKE the way you are thinking Leranis!

[loose_screw]

On the other hand, 50% off accessories at Best Buy is still a rip off.

[Xtoo]

Too bad Apple products don't apply for a bargain. I'd love to get me one of those new Macbooks at a discounted price....!

[mrbofus]

She still could have gotten a better deal if she had ordered online and not have to dealt with haggling at Best Buy.

As of right now, the only Costco Sony 40" LCD I see on their website is $1,499, not $1,399, but even factoring that in, she could have gotten a better deal online. The more expensive Costco model is a Sony BRAVIA KDL-40W3000.

Here's my math:
At Best Buy, she got the TV down to $1,499, before tax. She got half off her HDMI cable and surge protector. Best Buy's cheapest HDMI cable is $59.99 for 6.5' and their cheapest surge protector is $13.99. Including the $199 Blu-ray player and 3 free movies, her total comes out to $1735 before tax. Los Angeles sales tax is 8.25% so her total would have been $1,878.14.

Online, she can get the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40W3000 for $1,390.99 after tax/shipping from J&R. From monoprice.com she can get a 6' HDMI cable for $9.50 and a surge protector for $4.16. After tax/shipping from monoprice.com, the total is $19.52. The article doesn't mention which Blu-ray player she got, but Best Buy offers the Panasonic DMP-BD30K for $399.99 on their website. You can get that from 6ave.com for $258.76 shipped. And online you can get Blu-ray movies for about an average of $27. So the final cost for buying everything online would come out to $1750.27 and she wouldn't have have left her house or dealt with haggling at Best Buy. And depending on which model of the 40" LCD she actually got, she may have been able to save a little more online.

[hafenbrack]

Of course she would have had to WAIT to receive all of these products...Maybe 1 or 2 of th eproducts arriving on the same day, otherwise having to wait unitl that last, vital piece arrives a week later. And if something broke down and she needed to return it, now she pays return shipping....and so on. I buy 95% of my electronics online, which is quite a bit, however for a pittance of saving (127.87 by your math) I'd go to the store.
When I bought my 50" Samsung, I saved $950 by buying it online, now THAT's worth the savings!
IMHO she got a great deal at Best Buy this time and paid a small premium for the convenience of having it now.

[hoohah]

I was thinking "I wonder how much these are online?" as I was reading the article. Thanks for running the numbers!

[rk22180]

DUDE... What???

[Shun4rm323]

rk22180, its called reading...
mrbofus, great explanation on your part. Also look for cables and accessories at newegg.com

[AXG]

I fully agree with your analysis. I have often seen that very good deals can be had online instead of places like Best Byuy, Circuit City etc.

[Harrison912]

As a web site owner for safety and security products, I agree gadgets are popular. Consumers are looking for bargains and value for the dollars they do spend. I'm planning on throwing in $300 in free gas for a $!50 purchase for my holiday special. Even though gas is coming down, it doesn't hurt to stretch that dollar as far as it can go.

[Shamrockcracka]

First off he wasnt matching Costco. It is against Best Buy's and Circuit City's price matching promise to price match wholesalers such as Sam's Club, Costco, Bj's etc.. This article is very misleading.. if we are assuming that the costco tv was the older kdl40w3000 and the Best Buy tv was the kdl40w4100... THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TV's! Any good salesman would have explained the differnce and made the sale rather than cut grossly into his company's net margin. Same goes with the accessories.

[BenFlavoredCandy]

Besides just haggling and price searching it's good to check out discounts from 3rd parties. I know AAA members get 8% off at Circuit City [in-store or phone orders only]. 8% might not be a lot when you're buying a couple of CDs, but if you're picking up $1,878.43 in electronics, that is substantial. Include haggling in there and you are probably going to get a better price in the store.

[TheKnightLife]

It appears many businesses are hurting already. On Monday I purchased a 50" Pioneer Elite Plasma (Pro 111FD) from a small mom/pop electronics store at my local mall for $3500 with free delivery, and a Panamax 5300PM line conditioner for 25 bucks above his cost. I've researched these items on-line and haven't even found any reputable retailers with these prices. Although even if I had, I'd rather suppport the local businesses in my area. BTW all items were brand new and sealed.

[the_iceman]

Leslie Martinez is a fool if she thinks she got a great deal. She just wanted the TV right? Instead she got suckered into the TV AND all that extra stuff which only increased total. You can get a HDMI cable online for 5-10$ and I'm sure they sold her the monster cable surge protector, which aren't exactly cheap. Personally, I'd rather buy from costco than best buy on most occasions, but you should also check the prices on-line as well.

To the reviewer above: Benflavored: circuit city issues 10% off coupons through US Mail change of address promos.

My advice if buying from a retail store is waiting until Christmas sales (december) & Superbowl sales (january), also you should try to get their 3yrs-no interest deals and don't get suckered into discounted game consoles, blu-ray players, surge protectors, hdmi cables, satellite TV offers, professional installation, extended warranties, etc. in the process.

[guillermoi69]

I found Dell laptops at 100 -300 less in Best Buy (compared againt the Dell site). besides the 0% interest dfor 18 months. A big TV cost a lot in shipping, so do not discount your local retailer

[CharlesCopus]

I have a comment for the_iceman and about the atrical overall. First of all, I don't believe that she got suckered into buying the proper cables. Many of new TV customers buying a blu-ray player and the complete HD experience will need all of the above. Also, I personally WOULD NOT shop online or at Costco. Have you been into a Costco and looked at their lineup of TV's? Many are either older or an off model. You may not know TV's that well, but next time your in Costco look at the fist letter of the TV. It's possible your looking at the Sony 40S3000, which is in my mind a "dog". You would be better off looking at something such as the Sony 40V4100 or the 40V4150 which is a much much MUCH better set. Another reason I would not shop at Costco is because lets be honest, Costco is complete garbadge. . I would rather shop at the "mom and pop" shop and support local business as well as local employment. Corporate America is part of the reason why the US is on the downfall. While reading this please keep in mind I am not by any means sticking up for Best or Circ. City Just thought I would put in my two cents. Best of luck on the TV hunts! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD PURCHASE A TV FROM COSTCO?

[klew]

People who enjoy low prices (with potential membership rebates) and free, extended 2-year warranty and a 90-day return policy. My HDTV was bought before the new policy, so it's grandfathered under the lifetime return policy.

[sportbikerr1]

You're statement is so far from true it isn't even funny. First off you compare the specs model numbers and everything else costco definately has the best deals. Infact when I was looking for a specific new model they we're the only place that stocked it in the store and by far the cheapest. Sure best buy would sell it to me online and change me 33% more than Costco in the process. But by the sounds of it you're the type of person who would spend thousands of dollars for the top of line computer performance when if you had spent 50% less you would have had over 85% of the performance. Many of us learn when we're younger cutting edge performance and products just arn't worth it to most people. Costco stands behind their products and extends the warrenties WITHOUT cost to you, unlike the stores that you mentioned. When buying a TV I wouldn't buy from anywhere BUT Costco, the other stores are mostly rip-offs. The cost of Monster cables and stuff are usually less than 10% of the price, so ya selling a cable at 50% is still a bum deal.

[rk22180]

Sounds like a good deal overall to me. Getting the cables for 1/2 off is a good deal - your gonna need them and if they were hi quality (monster is) so much the better and a surge protector for your expensive electronics is just good common sense (again if it's a good one). Seriously, if your talking about a $300 tv and a $99 dvd player you don't need $60 in cables and a $50 surge protector - IMHO. But when your talking about a couple thousand dollars or more of hi-end components buying quality interconnects, etc. makes sense. Arguing otherwise reminds me of people who drive a performance sedan and can't afford or won't buy premium required fuel - Shortsighted.

[iceman721]

I purchased a Panasonic from Costco and I watched it for about 3 weeks and took it back when my 1st choice went on sale. The Panasonic was on sale from Costco for 1599.00 it was 1700 out the door with tax. I took it back and picked up a 50" Samsung series 6 plasma from Circuit City on sale for 1650.00 w/ a coupon. There is a HUGE difference in picture quality. I purchased 4 HDMI cables from Monoprice & 100 ft of 16 gauge speaker wire for 60.00 including shipping. My Onkyo 805 receiver was 1,200 MSRP and I paid 600 for it from Amazon. I picked up an LG Super blu combo player from Best Buy for 400 (original 800.00) a Harmony 1 remote from Dell for 150 (250 @ Best Buy, 200 @ Amazon). I estimate that I saved over a thousand dollars shopping online. And yes their is a difference between regular stock televisions and the Costco variety.

[CharlesCopus]

=-) Nice choice on the 6 series Samsung iceman, very impressive TV. Sportbiker, enjoy your house full of Costco products. I just don't like the idea of one day Costco putting tons of other companys out of business so I have no where else to shop. Well maybe I could still shop at Walmart. .

[neverforgetJeff]

First of all, no one should buy their electronics from costco or Sam's. They sell old/inferior models for $50 less than the department stores and big box stores, and don't offer (for the most part) home delivery, interest free financing, installation, or accident protection.

Second, I work at Sears, and no, we do not haggle. We do guarantee to beat any local competitor's price, but if you bring in an ad for a "walmart exclusive" model with a lower contrast and fewer ports, I will happily show you our price on the real version of that tv. We sell most of our tvs at less than 10% markup, so if you are going to an electronics store that is marking down more than 5% while haggling, they were probably gouging to start with.

Third, instead of haggling at big box/department stores, just ask what the biggest deal of the week is. For example, this week at Sears I can sell a 46" Samsung A550 LCD TV for 1169.99 + Tax out the door, and that includes free next day home delivery and discounted accessories. If you try to haggle with me after that huge markdown, it is just offensive. Just shop for the best deal, don't try to be all "smooth." You aren't fooling anyone, especially not seasoned sales people.

PS. not to burst your bubble or anything, but bestbuy runs deals like discounted accessories, $199 blu-ray with hdtv, and 3 free blu-ray movies with blu-ray player all the time. He probably wasn't actually doing much adjustments, just giving you the current deals.

[pescado]

As a former Best Buy employee, I can confirm what others have said:

This isn't a "great deal"; it's typical BBY sales deceit.

The Blu-Ray offer has been available for over a YEAR?it's part of their "Complete Solution" package. Anyone would have received the same deal if he walked in knowing what BBY offered in the first place. I saw this happen all the time when I worked there; if a customer balked at a price, the salespeople kept "sweetening the deal" and pretending the package discount was unique to that sale.

The 50% discount is impressive and it's not part of the Complete Solution, but I'd like to know if they were Monster or Rocketfish. A typical Rocketfish HDMI cable sells for $60 retail and $5 employee price?and the discount is 5% above cost! If she received half off Monster, she got a good deal (regardless of whether or not Monster brand is necessary for HDMI).

By the way, we price matched discount retailers all the time, even though BBY officially doesn't.

I'm not trying to discredit the author: the woman in the story did receive a really good deal! In fact, I'd encourage anyone to take advantage of BBY's package discounts.

[cnet=techpimp]

"Best Buy" so isn't. They've had stuff online for above MSRP and argued with me that it was "typical pricing of similar type stores". What a load of gas. How did I know the BB price was over MSRP? Easy, it was a new Sony product that Sony had on their site at nearly15% less. I once thought Circuit City was the worst but then I went to BB.

[chrisp339]

About 8 years ago I worked for Circuit City for a few years. The best deals were always to be had in the first week or so of November. Sure, there were a loss leader or two for Thanksgiving, but the best deals seemed to be in early November with prices raising steadily until Xmas.

Also, with Circuit City stock at 40 cents a share, they might not be in business after Xmas, so one might be able to get some great deals in bankrupcy liquidation, but that would not likely occur until Quarter 2 next year.